Special Deliveries
by freakyfan3754
Summary: We find out that Zack is in fact alive. Cloud goes to make a delivery and receives the shock of his life. Life in general improves, then one day things go very much awry. No yaoi.
1. Chapter 1

**Special Deliveries**

**Part 1  
**

"Evacuate, evacuate!" shouted the head doctor of the hospital, running down the hallway. The flames were spreading down quickly from the upper floors. "Move everyone out, worst cases first!" Chaos reigned as the staff rushed patients out of their respective rooms from all directions.

"Doctor! What about this one?" called a nurse a few doors down. He came over and looked where she was pointing, towards a bed in the far corner of Room 213.

"Which—_that _one? How many times have I told you, he's too far gone! Just leave him."

"But Doctor," the nurse protested, "the man who brought him here said to keep him around, that he was…"

" '…worth it' . I know, you've told me. But all he's done since he got here is taken up bed-space," the doctor said impatiently. "We sure could have used it during the geostigma scare. Who was that bum that dropped him off anyway?"

"He didn't say. After he handed him over to us he just sort of…disappeared."

"Crazy," muttered the doctor. "Well anyway, let's get out the ones that are going to make it before worrying about Sleeping Beauty over there."

"But Doctor—"

"Come on, go!" he said. The nurse threw a last glance over her shoulder at the motionless heap of jet-black hair on the pillow as she reluctantly hurried off.

A little later, however, the overall atmosphere of utter panic began to stimulate the abandoned patient's long-dormant brain. He started to cough as the room filled with smoke.

Before getting out of the burning building the head doctor was making one last set of rounds by himself, frantically rushing through the hallways again, scanning the rooms to make sure every salvageable patient was out. Suddenly he heard an almighty crash coming from Room 213. He ran in to have a look. The window on the far wall was shattered, with glass shards all over the floor. He tried to look outside, but could only see the blackness of the smoke that was billowing out the window. He coughed, then turned and saw something even more strange; the bed in the corner was empty. All that remained on it was a red rag, which he had no idea from where it could have come; it matched nothing from that room, nor any of the clothing of the staff or the patient. There was no sign of 'Sleeping Beauty'. He shook his head in bewilderment as he hurried out. "Crazy," muttered the doctor.

* * *

"Wh-where am I…?"

"Not in a burning hospital, is that enough for you?"

The eyes of Zack Fair opened for the first time in over a thousand mornings. He saw a dim room swimming before him, with a tall man standing on the opposite side of it. The man had a long red cloak draped over his shoulders, and was facing the wall.

"H-hospital?" Zack stuttered, trying to get his bearings.

"Yes. I removed you. I knew no one was going to bother with a patient that was unconscious for three years."

"Three years! Damn…that long?"

"It's not that long, in the grand scheme of things," said the man, still with his back to Zack.

"Who are you? And what's with the cape?"

The man turned towards him. "Vincent," he said, "that's all you need to know."

"Oookaay…" Zack replied, confusedly. "But, wait a minute, I don't remember any hospital. In fact the last thing I remember was…was…the Lifestream!" Zack's eyes widened; he looked down and scratched his head. "I was going into the Lifestream! How could I—"

"You fell out of it," said Vincent.

"What?"

"You fell out, and right through my roof."

"Whoa…is that even possible?"

"When a body first enters the Lifestream, it becomes very unstable," Vincent explained. Sometimes it can take even a couple of years for it to be permanently absorbed."

"So you're saying I just fell out of the sky?"

"Even the Lifestream has its glitches. It's very rare, and no one talks about it because the person is still dead when they fall out, but it has happened."

"That's insane," muttered Zack. "But, it doesn't explain how I'm alive. Was it you who saved me?"

"I had a Phoenix Down kicking around, and I used it on you. Unfortunately with the extent of your injuries it only elevated you to a comatose state, so I just dropped you off at the hospital."

"Wow…Thanks, man!" exclaimed Zack. "But, I've got to ask…why bother? I mean, I wasn't exactly a high-ranking government official. I was just a dumb rebel as far as most people were concerned."

"Exactly," said Vincent. "I'd heard of you. My spies told me that you had a lot of potential. You were very skilled, you had pride, confidence. But you had enough heart to be more than a brainless Shinra puppet." He spoke as if reading from a scouting report.

"Spies?"

"Never mind."

"But somebody said all that about me? Wow," marveled Zack. "Okay, so where am I really?"

"You're in a house outside Midgar. You'll recuperate here until we figure out what to do with you."

" 'Midgar'? " Zack hadn't yet remembered everything leading up to his death. But the name did sound familiar. "'Midgar'…Midgar, right! Hey, do you know if a girl named Aeris Gainsborough still lives there?"

"Unfortunately, no…she's dead. Killed two years ago."

"What? No!" cried Zack, sitting bolt upright. The news hit his heart harder than any bullet had. "You can't be serio—you are, aren't you," he said, reading Vincent's face. Zack hung his head, grimacing. "And she was the only reason I was on my way here in the first place. Ugh…" he laid back on the thin pillow, his hands behind his head, and stared at the ceiling. "How?...Who?...Why?"

Vincent needed only one word. "Sephiroth," he said.

"Naturally," grumbled Zack. "That crazy son of a…of a…" he trailed off, starting to choke up. He sniffed and cleared his throat. "Sorry," he said, rubbing his nose with his finger, somewhat embarrassed.

Vincent sat down near the foot of the bed. "Your grief is understandable," he said. He stared into space, straight ahead, as if his head or his heart was somewhere else. He shook off his little trance and tried to change the subject. "So," he said, "what is the last thing you remember before the Lifestream?"

Zack furrowed his brow, squinted his eyes shut, put his arm over his face and tried to think. "Last thing I remember…hm," he said slowly. "Oh, I was talking to this…kid…Cloud I think his name was—yeah ." He took his arm off his face and looked up. "D'you know if _he_ made it, at least?" His eyes almost pleaded with Vincent, like a scared little boy asking about a lost puppy. Vincent gave a nod, drawing a small exhale from Zack. "Is he still around here?" Zack asked out of curiosity.

"Yes. He delivers packages for a living now."

Zack choked on his words again, this time in laughter. "A delivery boy? Ha! Who'd have thought. Well I'm sure he wouldn't remember me…"

"To the contrary," Vincent replied calmly, "he remembers you well. He still feels guilty about what happened to you—and Aeris."

"Aw hell, it wasn't his faul—Aeris? What about her? Did he see her die too? Why didn't he do anything to sto—"

"He couldn't. The situation was entirely out of his control." Vincent could read the frustration on Zack's face. "Don't be too hard on him…he's recently been trying to forgive himself."

"Wait, how do you know about the situation? Were you there too?" Zack said, sitting up again and looking at him quizzically.

Vincent shook his head. "Cloud told me," he said. "I visited him one time. He got a little drunk, started telling me a couple of things. If a man pours enough alcohol down his throat he's likely to pour his heart out a little bit too."

"Hmph. Well put. So…if he felt guilty about me, and you knew I was alive, why didn't you just tell him?"

"He probably wouldn't have believed me. And it's not like he could have done anything to change your condition," Vincent answered.

"True."

"And if word got out, Shin-Ra probably would have sent someone—"

"—to finish me off," Zack finished. "Of course, that makes sense. I wouldn't put anything past _them_."

"Besides, I figured, why mess with Cloud's head any further?"

Zack once again leaned back with his hands behind his head, and said "Well, that's the difference between you and me, Vincent—"

"There's only one?"

"—I think messing with Cloud's head a bit would be fun." Zack smiled. "I think I've got an idea as to how we can let him in on our little secret, real subtle-like. Well, for the most part. But I'll need a little help from you…"

* * *

Tifa heard Cloud come in the bar door. "I'm back," he said. He flopped onto a stool. "Last delivery of the day."

"Hey, Cloud, somebody left this message for you," Tifa said, leaning over the bar and handing him a small envelope. "The kid said something about a special order. I was supposed to give it to you as soon as I saw you. Funny, people usually just call them in."

"Well here's why," said Cloud, waving the piece of paper. "It's an order for a phone. Apparently the guy who sent the kid placed the order in person at the store but when it's due to come in at the end of the week he's not going to be available to pick it up."

"Weird," said Tifa.

"Whatever. As long as they pay us," said Cloud. His eyes reached the bottom of the note. "Hey, it's from Vincent."

"Also weird," said Tifa. "I guess he never did get himself one—till now."

"I guess," Cloud echoed.

On the morning of the following Saturday, Cloud picked up the small package from the phone store and headed for Vincent's out-of-the-way dwelling on his motorcycle as planned. The rest of that day, Cloud Strife could never have planned at all.

* * *

Cloud pulled up in front of the house, dismounted and banged on the door.

"Just put it on the doorstep," called a voice from within. Cloud was puzzled, but did so, then stood next to his bike, waiting for the tip as usual. Then the door opened a crack, but all that he could see was a single hand reaching out and taking the phone into the house. He could hear the sound of the package being opened, then a few keys being pushed. This was all very strange. Not only was this an odd way for someone to receive a package—that voice most certainly did not belong to Vincent. It did sound familiar though. Cloud shook his head and tried to put the thought out of his mind. He sighed impatiently and continued waiting, arms folded.

Suddenly, Zack flung the door open so hard that it smashed into the outside wall and nearly fell off its hinges. "Cloud!" he cried joyfully. "Just the delivery boy I wanted to see! I wasn't gonna believe it till I saw it. Good to see ya, man." Cloud's jaw nearly hit the ground. He stumbled backward and slumped against his bike. He blinked, and blinked again. "Hold still, I gotta snap this," said Zack, holding up the phone. Almost triumphantly, he hit a button and took a photo, preserving Cloud's stunned, nearly terrified expression. He looked at the screen to admire the picture. "Oh, _priceless!_ Ha ha ha!" He turned his head back towards the inside of the house. "Vincent, you gotta see this! No? Okay, well, um…permission to invite the delivery boy in?" He got a nod in reply, and turned back to Cloud. "Come on in, pal," Zack said.

Cloud wandered through the doorway, dazed. Zack closed the door behind him, and put the cell phone down on a nearby table. "I believe this is yours," he said to Vincent.

Vincent examined the phone. "Yes, this is what I ordered," he said. Cloud shook his head rapidly, trying to clear it.

"Okay, good…you got a tip for me, Vincent?"

"Right here," the customer replied, handing Cloud some cash.

Zack watched the exchange, smirking. "So businesslike," he said. Cloud looked up at him. "I'm proud of you, man. That phone is nice too," Zack added, picking it up and studying it. "Sleek-looking, and I already know the camera feature works pretty well. I might get one of these little babies mysel—what the hell are you doing?" He suddenly noticed Cloud pacing around the room, repeatedly smacking himself in the forehead.

"Hallucinating again," Cloud muttered to himself. "Tifa's gonna kill me. She was right—I _am_ gonna get distracted and drive myself off a cliff one of these days."

"Tifa?"

"Yeah," said Cloud, stopping and looking up at Zack again. "she and I run the delivery service out of this bar called—why am I even talking to you? You're a figment of my imagination! Gaaah!" He clutched his head with both hands and tore at his hair.

"Funny name for a bar," Zack cracked. He looked Cloud in the eye with genuine concern. "Dude, is that mako poisoning still hitting you or what? Come on, it's me!"

Cloud shook his head again as he wandered toward the door. "See you later Vincent," he said. "I gotta go, I've got more deliveries to make..." But before he could leave, Zack side-stepped in front of him, blocking his path and filling the doorframe.

"And _just_ where do you think _you_ are going? You gotta say hello before you say goodbye, don't you?"

"Out of my way you crazy ghost," grumbled Cloud, trying to duck under Zack's arm that blocked the door.

"Ghost? Aw, that hurts, man," said Zack, folding his arms.

"I said I have more deliveries—" said Cloud, reaching for the door handle. Zack grabbed it first.

"Deliveries, huh? How 'bout I 'deliver' my fists to your stomach to show you I ain't no ghost?" He gave Cloud some friendly punches. "Am I real now? Huh? Huh?"

"Ow!" Cloud doubled over.

"Just don't return the favor, alright?" said Zack, patting his own abs. "You might remember, some guys made Swiss cheese out of my gut a while back—it's still a little tender."

Cloud staggered backward, still doubled over, wide-eyed, shaking his head. "Y-you—crazy son of a—" he stammered. Zack grinned. Cloud had backed all the way to the other side of the room; he slumped against the wall, letting his arms droop to his sides. "By Gaia," he said, staring. "It really is you, isn't it?"

"Finally!" cried Zack, raising his arms in mock celebration. He rushed over to Cloud, clamped his hand on top of his friend's head and shook it around hard, dizzying him. "We have penetrated the blond, spiky exterior and entered the brain!"

Zack let go of Cloud. "I just…can't believe it," said the frazzled delivery boy.

"Believe it, my man," his friend replied, putting his hands on his hips. "Zack Fair, _former_ SOLDIER First Class, reporting for non-duty. Hey," he said, putting an arm over Cloud's shoulders, "Vincent here tells me you've got a lot of guilt going on the last couple years. Blaming yourself for what happened to me, Aeris, the works. And you're only now starting to forgive yourself? I thought you were going to live out my life as well as yours. Seems to me like you haven't been doing either one."

"I'm sorry if I failed you," Cloud said slowly.

"Aw hell, that's not the point! You've got to learn how to live, man! One guy can only take so much. Being alive is a good thing. I know—I've tried the alternative!"

Vincent rolled his eyes. "Are you finished?" he asked.

Zack turned to him. "To the contrary," he said mischievously, "I'm far from it."

"But, I still don't understand!" Cloud sputtered. "I mean, I—I _watched_ you d-"

"Cloud?" Zack interrupted.

"Yeah?"

"Shut up." Zack was smiling. "Now, why don't you 'deliver' your butt to that chair." He gestured towards Vincent's beat-up furniture as he spoke. "We've got a lot of catching up to do." But before Cloud could move, an almighty crash was heard in the other room. The three men rushed in to investigate.

What they found was a huge hole in the ceiling, with pieces of the roof all over the floor. They surveyed the wreckage, slightly stunned. As the dust settled, they could see that there was a body lying on top of the debris. "What the…?" Zack turned to Vincent and said, "I thought you said this was rare!" Vincent shrugged a shoulder. Cloud shot a questioning look at Zack, who read his friend's face like a book. Of course Cloud did not yet know the details of Zack's grand re-entrance into the world. Zack smirked. "Later, pal," he said.

They all moved in for a closer look at the body. A board had fallen in such a way that it covered the person's face, so Zack kicked it aside. Then suddenly he froze, as did Cloud. They blinked, and blinked again. They stared at the body, then at each other.

It was the body of Aeris Gainsborough.


	2. Chapter 2

**Part 2**

"It's Aeris!" cried Cloud.

Zack whirled around to Vincent. "Can you do anything?" he asked.

"I don't have a Phoenix Down," Vincent replied.

"Well, well, let's _get_ one!" Zack sputtered desperately.

"Wait, there might be some back at the bar, " said Cloud. "If there is I can take her back with me. I'll call Tifa." He drew his own phone from his pocket and dialed the number. "Come on, pick up," he muttered as he held the phone to his ear.

"Strife Delivery Service," said a voice on the other end.

"Tifa? It's me. You know that locked cabinet behind the bar, the one with the old magic stuff? Can you open it for me and—"

"Cloud, you're talking way too fast, what's going on?" Tifa said, her voice taking on a worried tone.

"You're not gonna believe this," Cloud said. "Zack's alive. And Aeris might be, too…uh, soon."

Tifa's hand went to her forehead and she rolled her eyes in frustration. "Cloud…" she said impatiently, in a voice that told him she did not believe him at all.

"It's true, I swear!"

"Come on, ask her!" Zack urged.

"Can you open that cabinet and tell me if we've got any Phoenix Downs in there?"

"Um, sure..." Cloud heard the sound of keys jingling as Tifa opened the cabinet and bent down to look inside. "Yeah, there's one kicking around in the back."

"Okay, great. Could you have it out for us please? I'll be home real soon," said Cloud, still talking too fast.

'_Us'? _thought Tifa . "Yeah…sure…"

"Okay, thanks a lot, bye," Cloud hung up.

Tifa hung up and stared at the phone. "…just don't make me use it on _you_," she murmured.

"You've got one?" Zack said to Cloud.

"Yup," he replied. He put away his phone, bent down and lifted Aerith's body up from the rubble. "Wish me luck."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold up," said Zack, following Cloud out of the room and to the door. "I'm coming with you."

"What?"

"You ready to go topside again?" Vincent asked Zack.

"You think I'm gonna let you try and drive that bike home and hold on to that body at the same time?" Zack said to Cloud. "No way. A.) you'll get yourself killed in the process, and B.) I loved Aerith too, and if you think I'm going to miss out on the possibility of her coming back like me, you're even more messed up in the head than I thought. And I've seen that bike. It's massive. There's room if I hold onto her good. Besides, what better way to prove to Tifa that you're not crazy?"

"All right, you win," said Cloud. He handed the body over to Zack and opened the door. "All aboard."

"Thanks for everything, Vincent!" said Zack as he and Cloud exited the house and settled onto the bike. He held tight to Aeris's body on his lap. "Alright, Spiky," he said, "drive."

***

Not much later, Tifa Lockhart saw a very strange sight coming down the street as she looked out the window. The motorcycle that had carried one person that morning now seemed to be carrying three. The driver, and another man behind him, carrying a woman on his lap. She looked over at the Phoenix Down sitting on the bar. Moments later, the door flew open. Cloud came in with Zack at his heels carrying Aeris.

Zack grunted. "Hey, Tifa," he said, "long time no see." She just stared in disbelief. "Bet you guys don't make _this_ sort of delivery every day"

"What the hell…?" she said slowly, looking at the trio, blinking rapidly.

"I told you," said Cloud with a smirk. "You got that Phoenix Down?"

"Yeah…right here…" she said, reaching for it and sliding it closer, still staring at Zack. Cloud swiped it off the bar.

"Thanks Tifa, you're the best," he said.

"Uh, thanks."

"Okay, this way," Cloud said to Zack. He lead him upstairs, and Tifa followed. They entered a room and Zack laid Aeris down on one of the beds. He stared at her for a moment. Cloud cleared his throat. "Here goes," he said, and applied the Phoenix Down. Zack bit his lip; the three of them stared at Aeris, hardly daring to breathe. Suddenly she started to cough and gasp as life was breathed back into her. Her eyes fluttered open.

"Aeris!" cried everyone in unison.

The girl tried to get her bearings as the room came into focus. She caught sight of the delivery boy first. "Cloud…? Is that you? What's going on?"

"Y-you're alive," Cloud said, hardly believing it himself.

Suddenly Aeris noticed the other ex-SOLDIER standing over her. "Zack!" she said, startled, "I thought you were…"

"Dead? I was…" Zack said. "And so were you," he added with a half-smile. She smiled up at him weakly.

"Oh my God," said Cloud slowly, turning and flopping backwards onto the other bed, arms stretched out, "it actually _worked!_"

Zack looked over at his friend, who was for once very happy. "If anybody else comes back to life today Cloud's gonna have a heart attack," he said with a grin. Tifa laughed, and shook her head.

"I'm so confused," she said.

"Tifa? Hi..."

"Hey, Aeris," said Tifa gently. "Good to have you back."

"Understatement of the year," said Zack, sitting next to Aeris on the bed. Though her heart had been frozen two years, his smile instantly melted it.

"How can this be?" said Aeris, still quite foggy.

"Well I might as well catch everybody up," said Zack. He relayed to Cloud and the ladies all that Vincent had told him about his coming back to life.

"Holy crap…" said Tifa, staring into space.

"Wow," said Aeris.

"So I owe Vincent a lot," said Zack, pensively. "He saved my ass twice. I guess he has a habit of doing that."

"I've noticed," mumbled Cloud.

"Maybe you could help fix his roof in return," said Tifa.

"Heh, yeah, maybe."

"Sorry about that," said Aeris.

"Hey, not your fault at all," said Zack. "In fact it was very convenient." Cloud rolled his eyes at his friend's flirting. "So. You know the only reason I was headed for Midgar was to see you, right?" Zack continued. Aeris smiled up at him again. "Yeah, I was makin' some nice plans before those bastards had to go and mess everything up for me," he added, looking up at the ceiling. "And I was also thinking of asking you....of…as...king you...um—a question." He faltered as he looked into her eyes.

Cloud rolled his eyes again. He knew just where Zack was going. "Just say it," he said.

"I've met several women in my time," Zack said, trying to ignore him. "But somehow you were just…different…special. I was never happier than when I was with you."

"Oh, Zack," said Aeris, "You…you really mean all that?"

"Every word," he said, smiling sheepishly. "So, I was going to ask you…to marry me." Aeris's eyes lit up. Zack's voice sped up as he grew more and more nervous. "Unless of course you don't want to, in which case that's perfectly fi—mmff…" She kissed him on the lips mid-sentence. Cloud and Tifa started to laugh at the expression on Zack's face. When Aeris was finished he flopped backwards onto the pillow, his face red as a beet, staring at the ceiling. "Wow," he said slowly.

"I think that would be a yes," said Tifa. Zack sat up and took Aeris's hands in his.

"It's just that, having that happiness every day for the rest of my life would be…amazing," he said.

"You'll have it," Aeris said, looking at him, smiling and shaking her head. "I promise."

"When I was plotting my new life as a free man I decided it would be nice to share it with someone," Zack continued.

"With me?" said Aeris.

"Well, I mean, Cloud's a good _friend_, but…" he cracked, drawing more chuckles from Tifa. "But let's face it, you're prettier."

Aeris giggled, flattered. "Although, there was that one time…" she said.

"Oh no," said Cloud. "Don't tell him about—"

"where Cloud dressed in drag."

"What??" said Zack, turning to Cloud. He nearly fell off the bed laughing.

"Aeris!" cried Cloud, grabbing his head in protest.

"Cloud in a dress! Ha ha ha!" Zack cried. "I love it! Oh, bad imagery, _bad_ imagery!"

"Hey, it was for a good cause," said Tifa with a smile.

"And what might that be?" Zack asked.

"Long story man, long story. Tell you later," said Cloud with his face in his hands, shaking his head."

"Oh all right," said Zack. He got up off the bed and looked down at Aeris. "So is it a yes?" he asked her. She smiled and nodded. Suddenly he scooped her up and twirled her around. "Woohoo!" he crowed. Aeris gave a little cry of protest but it soon turned into laughter as Zack laid her back down.

"You made me dizzy," she said.

"You make me dizzy without even spinning, so I guess we're even," said Zack with a grin.

"Alright you two," said Cloud, who had taken his hands down.

"I guess it's easy to pick up the pieces when you've both been dead for two or three years," Tifa mused.

"Hey, I was in a coma," said Zack. "Let's give Vincent a little credit here."

Suddenly a small boy poked his head into the room. He had been out playing with some other children. "Tifa? Cloud? What's going on?"

"Hey there," Cloud greeted him. "Heh, you wouldn't believe it if I told you."

"Hey, little guy," said Zack. "What's your name?"

"Denzel," the boy said.

"Cool, I'm Zack. This is Aeris. We're friends of Cloud and Tifa," said Zack, giving the simplest explanation possible.

"Nice to meet you," said Denzel politely.

"Hey, come here," said Aeris. Denzel walked over to the bed and Aeris took a good look at him. "Say, I remember you. I saw you when I was in the Lifestream and sent that water to fix all the geostigma."

"Geostigma?" asked Zack.

"It was this bad disease that a lot of people had," said Aeris. She tilted her head and looked at Zack questioningly. "You must not have been in the Lifestream during that time," she said to him.

"By what Vincent told me I don't think I was in there very long at all," Zack replied.

"Can you believe we're having this conversation?" Tifa said to Cloud. He shook his head, smirking a little.

"Anyway, you had it real bad, huh?" said Aeris, leaning forward and looking Denzel in the eye. He nodded.

Zack got down on one knee to do the same. "But you got through it okay, did you? You must be one pretty brave kid," he said. Denzel shrugged and gave a shy half-smile. Zack turned to Cloud. "Where'd he come from, anyway?" he asked him.

"His parents are dead," Cloud answered. He's been living here with us for the last year or so.

"Have you ever thought of finding him some…un-dead parents?" Zack said, his eyes twinkling.

"You mean…" said Aeris

"…you two…" said Cloud.

"…marry, and adopt Denzel?" finished Tifa. "That would be so sweet!"

"Oh Zack, " said Aeris, "what a wonderful idea!"

"What do you think, Denz?" said Zack, turning back to the boy.

"Wow," Denzel said. He had never really thought about being adopted before. The thought of having real parents again pleased him very much. "I think it would be great."

"It's done then!" Zack exclaimed, standing up straight again. He turned to Cloud. "Anything we gotta sign?"

"Hell no," Cloud scoffed. "I can't remember the last time I saw red tape around here. Though I'll warn you, it could be risky. You are a marked man now, after all."

"I don't care," said Zack, shaking his head. He pulled in Aeris and Denzel on either side of him. "I'll protect you—both of you," he said, looking from his future wife to his future son as he spoke. "I'll do anything—I'll die again!" he said excitedly.

Cloud put his hand to his forehead and groaned. "Don't even say it," he said.

"Lighten up pal, I'm just kidding."

"Still, I'd like to be able to keep an eye on you guys, somehow."

"Hey, I know, we can stay here with you guys! I saw a couple extra rooms," said Zack.

"Huh?" said Cloud.

"Oh, don't worry, we'd earn our keep. Maybe I could help with the delivery service, and maybe Aeris can get her flower business going again, and we could help out in the bar by night. And if anybody tries to hit on her, well, you've still got my buster sword somewhere, right?"

"Heh, yeah, I do. But I've got to tell you, the delivery service doesn't get many customers."

"That's all right," said Zack. "I have a feeling things are going to get better in this town. I think the economy will bounce back."

"One can hope," said Tifa with a bit of a smile.

"Well, first thing's first," Aeris pointed out. "We have to get married."

"Right," said Zack. He turned back to Cloud. "You got any clerics in this dump?"

"I think so," his friend answered. "But I heard he's on vacation for the summer."

"Pity," said Aeris. "I think I know just the place to do it though," she said, looking at Zack, her eyes sparkling.

"Of course!" he replied. "Oh well, we can wait." He put his forehead against Aeris's, and took up her hands again. "We've got all the time in the world."


	3. Chapter 3

**Part 3**

So Zack and Aeris came to live at the bar, and all three businesses actually started to pick up quite well. The summer months passed, and soon the day of the wedding was at hand. It would be a quiet little ceremony, with just the residents of the bar attending. Vincent had come down with a cold and couldn't come, and everyone was still wary of drawing too much attention.

Zack practically leapt out of bed that morning. "This is gonna be the greatest day of my _life_!" he cried, spinning out of the room and nearly crashing into Cloud on the way by.

"Watch it, lover boy," Cloud grumbled sleepily. They made their way down the stairs to where Tifa was already up, finishing cleaning up from the night before.

"Coffee?" she offered.

"For me, yes please, for him, no," answered Cloud.

"Huh?" said Zack.

"You're bouncing off the walls already. You've got a grin wider than the bar plastered on your face. No caffeine for you."

"Okay."

"And no work either," said Tifa with a smile, sliding a mug of coffee towards Cloud. "Cloud and I decided last night that we'd give the bride and groom the day off."

"Cool," said Zack as he and Cloud sat down. "Thanks, Teef."

"No problem."

"Say, where is my bride, anyway?" Zack asked, looking around the otherwise empty barroom .

"She's at the church with Marlene getting flowers for the wedding," Tifa replied. "She's going to look real nice. I've already helped her put her white dress on—she said she wanted to wear it all day."

Zack smiled at the thought. "Well I suppose I should get ready too, then," he said.

Cloud looked up from his mug. "Zack, it's 9AM. The wedding's not till noon."

"So?" said Zack, grinning with excitement.

Cloud sighed, rolling his eyes and taking another swig of coffee.

* * *

A little later, Zack had just finished dressing when Cloud came into the room. "Here's that hair gel you wanted to borrow," Cloud said.

"Thanks pal," said Zack as he finished tying his tie in front of the mirror. Cloud sized up his friend's attire as he handed over the jar.

"A tux! Where the hell'd you get a tux?"

"I rented it," Zack replied casually.

"In other words you stole it," muttered Cloud with a bit of a smirk.

"If you want to get technical," said Zack casually, applying the gel to his raven hair generously. "There. How do I look?" he said, whirling around to face Cloud, his hands stretched out at his sides.

Cloud raised an eyebrow, not too impressed. "You're asking _me_?" he said.

"Hmm, good point."

"Cloud!" Marlene suddenly burst through the open door. "They've got Aeris!"

"What?" said Zack in alarm, the color instantly draining from his face.

"Who's 'they'?" said Cloud.

"These two guys—big guys," she said in a small panicked voice. "They grabbed her from the church and took her away in a car. They tried to get me too but I got away."

Zack opened his mouth but before he could speak, Tifa came rushing in after Marlene, with a wild look in her eyes. "Cloud! It's Denzel—he's gone."

"What?" cried Cloud.

"I was on my way up to see if he was awake, then I heard a crash, and I found somebody had busted through the window and grabbed him," she said, talking fast. "I tried to stop the guy but he knocked me clear across the room. Then before I could do anything he went back through the window, threw Denzel in a car, jumped in the passenger seat and sped off!"

Cloud just stared down, wide-eyed. Zack turned and flopped into a chair. "They've found me," he muttered, hanging his head. "Damn it."

"What do you mean?" said Tifa.

Zack put his hand to his forehead and rubbed his temples. "Shinra, the Turks, punks they hired off the street—somebody," he said. "You were right Cloud, I _am_ a marked man. Aeris and Denzel are my family now, and somebody knows it. They're going to use them as bait. That's the only explanation I can think of as to why they would both disappear at the same time. Maybe I should have laid low a little longer. I knew it was just a matter of time before I'd be discovered…I guess I just hoped it wouldn't come so soon. And who knows what they'll do to them now." He drew a deep shuddering breath, shaking his head and grimacing.

Tifa walked over and put a hand on Zack's shoulder sympathetically. "We're going to get them back," she said to him. He looked up at her almost gratefully.

"I hope so," he said with a sigh. "But where do we start?" Suddenly as if on cue, the phone rang. Zack bolted for it; he had a feeling the caller wouldn't be looking for the Strife Delivery Service. He lunged for the phone and picked it up. "Hello?" he said fiercely.

"Good morning, Lieutenant," said a deep voice on the other end. "I believe I have a couple of packages you might like to pick up."

"Who is this?" Zack demanded.

"There's a little warehouse in Sector 6. Be there in half an hour or we'll have to destroy the packages. Top-secret stuff, you know. And you'd better come alone, or else the girl is dead before you can say 'traitor'. Are we clear?"

"You put one hand on her and I swear—!" Zack shouted into the phone.

"Tick-tock," the man said simply.

"Hey! You—" but the man had hung up. "Damn it!" cried Zack, slamming the phone back on its hook.

"What did he say?" asked Tifa.

Zack told them the conversation. "They don't want money, they just want me to turn myself in," he finished. "They're probably going to kill Denzel and Aeris either way." A look of anger and helplessness crossed his face. Marlene looked up at Tifa, a tear trickling down her cheek.

"Well we're sure as hell not going down without a fight," said Cloud.

"Of course not," said Zack. "I'll go; it's the only way."

"By yourself?" said Tifa.

"What choice do I have?" Zack replied with a shrug. "Though maybe you guys could tell me where this warehouse is—you know this town better than I do."

"You might need backup—we're still not sure how many guys they've got," she said. "Marlene, you'd better stay here, and keep out of sight."

Zack protested. "But the man said—"

"We'll keep our distance," said Cloud. "We'll come after you in a few minutes, then hang back until you get inside the warehouse, and we'll go from there. We'll get them out—and you too," he finished, almost trying to convince himself as much as Zack that it would work.

Zack shook his head. "I just hope you're right," he said.

* * *

Zack reached the warehouse with plenty of time to spare. The door was locked so he banged on it. "Open up! I'm the one you want!" he shouted. There was no answer. "Let them go! This has nothing to do with them, damn it!" More banging, still nothing. Finally he gave up and broke down the door. He found Aeris and Denzel tied up in chairs, back-to-back, all alone.

"Dad!" exclaimed Denzel, as he now called Zack.

"Aeris! Denzel!" cried Zack, rushing towards them. The kidnappers had obviously hurt them badly, perhaps demanding to know Zack's whereabouts. "What happened? Who's done this to you?"

"Zack, it's too late, don't come any closer!" said Aeris.

"What?"

"There's only thirty seconds…" Aeris's eyes wandered downward to where the chairs met. Zack gasped—there was a time bomb tied to them. It hadn't been set to go off anywhere near half an hour after he had received the phone call; the kidnappers had never had any intention of waiting for Zack at that warehouse. "You have to run, Zack!"

"No, I'm not leaving you!" Twenty seconds. "Hold still." He drew his sword and began to hack at the ropes and the legs of the chairs. Twelve seconds. Finally he freed them and the bomb. Five seconds. "Get down!" he shouted. Aeris and Denzel dove to the floor. He grabbed the bomb and hurled it towards the empty doorframe, but it exploded before it got there. Aeris let out a scream and Zack threw himself over her and Denzel as the building rapidly crashed down around them.

As the debris settled Cloud and Tifa bolted towards what was left of the warehouse. They had backed up Zack as planned, but everything had happened too fast for them to do anything. "Zack! Aeris! Denzel!" they called out desperately. They started shoving things aside. Cloud pulled a crate off of Zack, who slowly started to pull himself up out of the rubble.

"Ugh…" he groaned, stretching his back and getting up on his knees. He rubbed his head, eyes shut. "Everybody alive?"

"Yo," said Aeris groggily, opening her eyes and lifting her head slightly. Tifa pulled away a board to reveal Denzel. Zack looked down at him and shook his shoulder. "Denz! Hey Denz, you okay buddy?" he asked, with the genuine concern for his little comrade that Cloud remembered so well.

"Hm?" Denzel opened his eyes too, to the relief of all. "Oh…yeah. I knew you'd come…," he said, looking up at Zack as he sat up.

The ex-SOLDIER was touched. He grinned and shook his head. "Heh. Brave kid!" he said, ruffling Denzel's hair. Aeris slowly got up on her knees as well.

"Sorry we couldn't be of much help," said Cloud.

"Hey, there really wasn't much you could have done," said Zack. "There was nobody there for you to fight. They probably knew I'd come as soon as possible, so they just rigged a bomb to take out all three of us in one shot and bailed—they didn't wait around."

"Still, something seems fishy," said Cloud.

"Whatever you say, Detective Delivery Boy," Zack replied. "Meanwhile," he said, putting his arms over Aeris's and Denzel's shoulders, "what say we deliver these nice people home?"

* * *

"I think after all this I could use a drink," said Zack as the bedraggled group neared the bar.

"At 10:30 in the morning?" said Tifa.

"Whatever." Zack opened the door to the bar but was quickly met with a blade pointed at his throat.

"Welcome home," said the man wielding it.

"Who the hell are y—aah!" Two more men jumped Zack from out of nowhere, ambush style. They knocked off his sword and grabbed him. The others ran in to help.

"No!" cried Aeris, jumping up and hanging on one of the men's arms. He threw her off of him with such force that she flew over the bar, crashed into the back wall lined with glass bottles and fell behind it.

"Aeris!" Cloud cried, running towards the bar. The man with the sword took a swing at him before he could get to her, and they started dueling. Meanwhile the two other men had wrestled Zack to the other side of the room and handcuffed his hands to the leg of a table up against the wall. They started pummeling him mercilessly.

"Denzel, run!" shouted Zack between punches.

The boy started to take off but one of the men broke away from Zack, yelling, "Where you going you little brat?" He whipped out a gun and fired a couple of shots at Denzel, missing. Tifa leapt at the man and kicked the gun out of this hand, sending it flying through the air, skittering across the bar and falling behind it.

"Denzel, go find Marlene!" called Tifa as she and the man began fighting. The boy ran from the room.

The man still standing with Zack grabbed him by the collar.

"Exactly how long did you think you could hide, Lieutenant Fair?"

"Don't you dare call me that," Zack said stonily. "I'm not a SOLDIER anymore."

"Well you're right on that one. You are nothing but a worthless traitor, a disgrace to Shinra."

"Screw Shinra!" screamed Zack. The man gave him a swift smack in the face, but he went on. "Killing hundreds of people whenever you need to cover up a mistake, _that's_ not a disgrace? Ruining people's lives for the sake of sick experiments, _that's_ not a disgrace? Shinra never did a thing that wasn't for their own personal gain!"

"So you wanted to take them on all by yourself?"

"I wanted a normal life!" Another punch.

"You fool. What is 'normal' these days anyway?"

"Cut the crap. Did Shinra send you?"

The man shook his head. "Shinra knows nothing. You're still a corpse to them. I'm here because of my brother. He was one of the men who killed you the first time. He was eventually killed in battle himself. When you were in a coma at the hospital I was the assistant to the head doctor there. All those years I thought you looked familiar but I could never place you. After the fire I came here and worked at the local clinic. I heard some things, and finally put the pieces together. I was going to report you," the man said, "but then I thought it would be more satisfying to finish my brother's job—" he drew a gun and pointed it straight at Zack "—face to face."

Zack's eyes widened, then he glanced down towards his cuffed hands. He sighed. He got an all-too-familiar sinking feeling, the feeling that there was nothing left that he could do except keep his cool. He closed his eyes and set his jaw firm. He kept his head up and braced himself as he felt the cold metal circle of the gun barrel pressing against his forehead. He heard the click of the gun being cocked. The man's finger slipped in beside the trigger.

"Goodbye, Zack Fair." A shot was fired. Cloud and Tifa, just finishing off their opponents, whirled around in horror, fully expecting to look up and see their friend dead as a doornail with a hole in his head. Denzel and Marlene ran into the room, thinking the same. But this was not the case. Instead the man with the gun was falling backwards, his gun going off harmlessly into the ceiling. No one was stunned by this more than Zack, as he opened eyes that he never thought he would again, watching in amazement as his would-be assassin fell dead to the floor. Everyone stared down at the man. Then Zack looked up.

"Aeris!" he cried in shock. For who did he see on the other side of the room but his bride, perched on top of the bar on her knees, staring straight ahead and gripping a gun with both hands. She was breathing heavily; her dress was torn and bloodied, her hands were shaking, and her face was very pale. Everybody was stunned. Cloud came over to Zack with his sword and hacked him free of his chains. Tifa went to Aeris and took her arm gently.

"You can put down the gun, Aeris." The dazed girl let go, the gun slipping from her hands and hitting the floor. Tifa kicked it away. Aeris swung her legs over the side of the bar, sliding off and landing on her feet.

"I just killed somebody," she said, staring almost in disbelief. Zack stepped over the body and moved towards her. "I never thought I'd ever kill somebody. But I—I couldn't—" she shook her head and oozed into Zack's arms. "I couldn't let them…" she pressed the side of her head against his chest, listening to a heart that had almost been stopped a second time right before her eyes. She was gasping for breath as quiet tears poured down her cheeks. She closed her eyes. "I just couldn't let them take you away from me again," she finished softly.

Zack held her tight. "You did the right thing," he assured her.

"I was just…so scared today."

"I know," he said soothingly, dusting the bits of broken glass from her hair. "It's all right now. Everything's all right."

"Wow…" said Cloud, looking around and rubbing the back of his neck.

"That was a very brave thing you did, Aeris," said Tifa, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"I'll say," said Zack with a smile, pulling away slightly and tilting Aeris's chin up to look her in the eye. He cupped her cheek in his hand and wiped away a tear. "Thanks," he said. She smiled back up at him shyly. Then he looked away and lightened his tone slightly. "Man, what a crazy day," he marveled, shaking his head. "And I had something I was planning on going to today, too." Cloud rolled his eyes and Tifa grinned, realizing that Zack was teasing. "Now what _was_ it?" He looked around, eyes raised to the ceiling, rubbing his chin and pretending as if he was trying to think. Then he snapped his fingers. "Oh yeah! I was gonna go to a _wedding_ today!" Aeris giggled. Zack tilted his head and gave her his best puppy-eyed smile. "Want to come?" he asked her.

"Yeah…" she said, returning his gaze, unable to resist. "I do."


End file.
